Bank of America or Chase for business account?

Question

Bank of America or Chase for business account? So about to open up a business account for a new LLC and was curious on feedback between Bank of America and Chase. Please advise

Michael Ruvido · Answer

I just opened 3 business checking accounts with Chase last week.  I live in Mass, but have LLC's in Wyoming, Indiana, and Alabama.  None of the LLC's are registered in Mass because they aren't doing business here.  I wanted to use a smaller local bank as some people have suggested, but none of them would open business checking accounts because the LLC's are not registered in Mass (I checked with close to 20 banks).  This led me to the larger national banks, with both BoA and Chase being the front runners because they have branches close to where I live.  BoA requires a minimum balance of $5,000 across ALL your business accounts in order to avoid the monthly maintenance fee.  Chase requires a minimum daily balance of $2,000 in EACH account to avoid the monthly fee.  I wanted to go with BoA because I know one of the LLC's will have way more than $5,000 in it on a daily basis so that would take care of the monthly fees for all three (allowing me to not worry so much about the balances in the other two accounts).  Turns out BoA wouldn't let me open accounts for the Alabama and Wyoming LLC's because of the unique setup... My Wyoming LLC owns the Alabama LLC so when you check on the Secretary of State's website in Alabama you see the member as my Wyoming LLC, not my name.  And since Wyoming doesn't require LLC's to show their members online when you look on the Secretary of State's website in Wyoming you don't see my name either, only the name of the firm that set up the LLC.  Because of the anonimity in both LLC's, BoA wasn't able to prove that I own them so they wouldn't open the accounts.  Chase, however, allowed me to open them so that's where I ended up.  So far I've been pleased with the service at the local branch and with their website/moble app.  Now I need to start applying for business credit cards and BLOC's to help me scale!

Candice Wharton · Answer

@Lawrence Briggs Loan rates are lower and they're super easy to work with for business auto loans and mortgage loans.

Candice Wharton · Answer

@Joe S. We use Navy Federal and have been pleased thus far. I know it wasn't on your list of options but definitely worth considering.

Account Closed · Answer

@Joe S.  If you’re playing the points game then the Chase Ink Business Unlimited has no annual fee and you'll earn 75,000 points after spending $7,500 on it within three months. This card gives you 1.5x on all purchases, so use it for all bus. expenses. You can also get a Chase Saphire card for personal, combine points in the two cards, and then transfer to hotels or airlines.

Kai Kopsch · Answer

Chase is a lot easier to work with than BoA. Chase has better business CC and sign-up bonuses and other financial products that help small businesses. Just opened a business checking & CC with Chase can get you easy $700 to $1000in Statment credits and points within 3 months.

Lawrence Briggs · Answer

@Candice Wharton thank you for your input. I have personal bank accounts and a credit card with Navy Federal. What do you like about them for business banking? I am thinking about a business checking, savings, and maybe credit for my company. I am going to be self-managing my rental properties.

Peter Anderson · Answer

@Joe S. I’ve used both and the security at BofA felt more robust (which was pesky at times). Chase was recently offering a decent concession on new accounts in our area. Shop for deals/promos

Gina Stern · Answer

Smaller banks usually have links to the bigger banks though. They are so much more helpful, very responsive to needs such as wire transfers, opening up new accounts quickly. I think Valley are only in Florida, Georgia, and NJ.

Tsipora Smith · Answer

I chose Chase for my business. They have since given us credit cards with increasingly higher and higher limits relatively quickly. In addition, Bank of America is still under fire for creating false accounts and pushing products on customers that aren't in their best interest to meet quotas.

Gina Stern · Answer

When I had a business account at Bank of America they never ever contacted me to build a relationship and this was way before COVID. I have only used Chase for personal accounts, but I moved to Valley Bank for all my business needs. They are a smaller bank but very communicative and aware of customer needs. Good luck!

Bank of America or Chase for business account?

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